Coding Wisdom for Claude Code

Systematically capture and organize coding wisdom accumulated during development tasks.

A Claude Code skill that helps you build a personal knowledge base of coding insights. Capture development principles, debug approaches, user-caring details, and non-consensus tips that emerge during real coding work.

Features

• 📝 Capture Mode - Record wisdom after coding sessions with rich interactive prompts
• 🔍 Search Mode - Find relevant wisdom before starting new tasks
• 📚 Browse Mode - Explore accumulated wisdom by category
• 🏷️ Tag System - Organize wisdom with searchable tags

Categories

Category	Description	Example
Development Principles	High-level approaches to building software	"Read existing code before writing new code"
Debug Principles	Systematic approaches to troubleshooting	"Change one thing at a time when debugging"
Trivial User Features	Small details users care about	"Button hover states provide user confidence"
Non-Consensus Tips	Counter-intuitive but effective practices	"Write tests after implementation works"

Installation

Option 1: Install from GitHub (recommended)

1. Clone this repository to your local skills directory:

cd ~/.claude/skills
git clone https://github.com/your-username/coding-wisdom.git

2. Restart Claude Code

3. The skill will be automatically available

Option 2: Manual Installation

1. Copy the coding-wisdom/ folder to ~/.claude/skills/
2. Restart Claude Code

Usage

Capture Wisdom

After completing a coding task, capture what you learned:

1. Invoke the skill: "Use coding-wisdom to capture something I learned"
2. Select the category (Development, Debug, Trivial, Non-Consensus)
3. Answer the prompts:
   • Title (short, memorable)
   • Context (what led to this discovery)
   • The Principle (clear explanation)
   • Why It Works (rationale)
   • Tags (for categorization)

Search Wisdom

Before starting a new task, find relevant insights:

# View summary of all wisdom
python3 ~/.claude/skills/coding-wisdom/scripts/search_wisdom.py --summary

# Search by category
python3 ~/.claude/skills/coding-wisdom/scripts/search_wisdom.py --category debug

# Search by tags
python3 ~/.claude/skills/coding-wisdom/scripts/search_wisdom.py --tags testing,debugging

# Full-text search
python3 ~/.claude/skills/coding-wisdom/scripts/search_wisdom.py --search "test"

Command-Line Interface

# Interactive capture
python3 scripts/capture_wisdom.py --interactive

# Get help
python3 scripts/search_wisdom.py --help

File Structure

coding-wisdom/
├── .claude-plugin/
│   └── plugin.json          # Plugin metadata
├── SKILL.md                 # Main skill instructions
├── scripts/
│   ├── init_wisdom.py       # Initialize wisdom storage
│   ├── capture_wisdom.py    # Interactive capture script
│   └── search_wisdom.py     # Search by category/tags
├── references/
│   ├── categories.md        # Detailed category definitions
│   └── wisdom-template.md   # Template for manual creation
├── wisdom/
│   ├── development/         # Development principles
│   ├── debug/               # Debug principles
│   ├── trivial/             # Trivial user features
│   └── nonconsensus/        # Non-consensus tips
├── LICENSE
└── README.md

Wisdom Storage Format

Each wisdom item is stored as a markdown file:

---
category: nonconsensus
tags: [testing, pragmatic]
context: rails-api-project
date: 2026-03-05
---

# Write Tests After Implementation Works

**Context:** Discovered during Rails API development after repeatedly rewriting tests.

**The Principle:**
Write tests after the implementation is working correctly, not before.

**When to Apply:**
- Exploratory development where the API surface is evolving
- Integration with external services where contracts are uncertain

**When NOT to Apply:**
- Well-defined business rules with clear acceptance criteria

**Why It Works:**
- Tests document what the code actually does
- Avoids test rewrites during implementation discovery
- Catches edge cases you didn't anticipate

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Submit a pull request

License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.

Acknowledgments

Inspired by the Claude Code plugin ecosystem and the following skills:

• file-todos - File-based tracking system patterns
• setup - Rich CLI interaction patterns
• dhh-rails-style - Knowledge organization patterns
• brainstorming - Phase-based workflow patterns

Support

For issues, questions, or suggestions:

• Open an issue on GitHub
• Mention @coding-wisdom in Claude Code conversations

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Made with ❤️ for the Claude Code community